Quote de jour
"To read is to empower
 To empower is to write
 To write is to influence
 To influence is to change
 To change is to live."

          ~Jane Evershed

The end of the year is fast approaching. It can't get here fast enough for me. And I'm an optimist. It's a time of reflection and perhaps resolutions for the new year. I may have some regrets about 2008 but reading isn't one of them. My only resolution is to write more and do I dare say it?, read less. If you're too busy to read this, scroll down to the end for my latest muse.

I missed posting last week 's reading, so it just looks like an insane amount.

If Britney Spears can turn her train wreck of a life over, then there's hope for the rest of us.


I just finished reading(in bed) Chelsea Handler's truly laugh-out -loud funny book, My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One Night Stands. She's a soul sister I wish I could hang with.

Two books with questions as titles.
Maria Shriver's sliver of a book, Just Who Will You Be? graced the best seller list for eons thanks to her name and endorsement from Oprah. I finally thought to take a peek. It's light weight in more ways than its size. Another anorexicly slim book is Ann Patchett's What Now? She, however is a writer I admire. The book is essentially her commencement address at Sarah Lawrence College. It's a tiny book but packs a punch. http://www.annpatchett.com Everyone these days can use a little inspiration. It's why I do what I do.
As a fledgling photographer, I look to famous photographers for nuggets of wisdom and inspiration. Celebrity photog, Annie Leibowitz has a new book out and I couldn't wait to devour it. Some say she's overrated, but I should be so lucky to be in her shoes.

I'd seen most of the images before in Vanity Fair and other publications. I wanted to see early images before Rolling Stone catapulted her to fame. There were a scant few. Intimate ones of her family and a revealing self portrait displayed her early talent. There is a short Q & A and I found my nugget. It boiled it down to knowing when to stop and knowing you can't always get what you want. The medium has its limitations. It felt good to know that someone like her, who has access to the best equipment, assistants and opportunities is frustrated and never satisfied. 

The nugget of course is nothing new. I learned it a long time ago as an art student. My medium was painting then but the principles of being an artist never change. No good artist is ever satisfied. There is always more to learn. I took those words to heart on a train ride into Manhattan. A mist-shrouded bridge on the Hudson made me scramble for a shot. No easy task through a window of a moving train.

Not bad but it made me determined to see more, feel more and be vigilant  the rest of the day. It turned out to be a crappy day for the weather but a good one for photography.